Spoken-Word Formats Rule On January PPM Days 1-2.

Between the impact of Nielsen’s three-minute qualifier, picking up shorter listening occasions for news and talk formats, and a news- and sports-packed 28 days during Nielsen’s January PPM survey (Jan. 8-Feb. 4), all-news, news/talk and sports stations showed up big in the 20 non-embedded markets reporting on Days 1 and 2.

In these 20 markets, 10 news/talk, seven all-news and seven sports outlets combined for 24 spoken word formatted stations placing in the top five, while 11 — four news/talk, four sports, and three all-news — landed at No. 1.

An important note about the January 2026 PPMs: the rankings exclude stations owned by Cumulus Media, which is in the midst of a re-negotiation of its contract with Nielsen, which expired Dec. 31, 2025.

For Days 1 and 2 in these 20 markets, the leaderboard shows four wins for news/talk, sports and AC, three for all-news, and one each for hot AC, soft AC, urban AC, classic hits, rock and contemporary Christian.

Hubbard Radio all-news WTOP rolls to an eighth consecutive win, staying ahead of American University news/talk WAMU by 2.6 share points, even though both deliver double-digit shares. Howard University urban AC WHUR moves back up to third, while contemporary Christian pubcaster WGTS/WGBZ makes its first top-five appearance since March 2023.

Beasley Media Group’s “98.5 The Sports Hub” WBZ-FM, flagship for the New England Patriots, re-takes the lead during the Pats’ run all the way to Super Bowl, though it’s ahead of Audacy AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX by just 1.4 share points. “Magic” holds onto 45% of its share from the Holiday survey, when it was in the midst of its annual all-Christmas format. Beasley Media Group classic hits WROR bounces back into the top five, ranking third, while iHeart news/talk WBZ-AM and Audacy’s sports WEEI-FM tie for fourth.

For an eighth straight survey, Cox Media Group’s soft AC “Easy 93.1” WFEZ and urban AC “Hot 105” WHQT remain Miami’s top two, with the former on top for a third book in a row, just a share up on the latter. Univision Spanish AC “Amor 107.5” WAMR places third, followed by SBS Spanish classic hits “Zeta 92.3” WCMQ, up from seventh to fourth.

News/talk pubcaster KUOW-FM returns to No. 1 after its 12-survey win streak was interrupted by Hubbard AC “Warm 106.9” KRWM’s 24/7 Christmas songs in the Holiday book. KUOW has a comfortable 4-share lead over Crista Media contemporary Christian “Spirit 105.3” KCMS, which also did the all-Christmas thing. KRWM, now at fourth, sees a 48% share retention, and KCMS 81%, from Holiday 2025. Bonneville “Seattle Sports 710” KIRO-AM, the Seahawks’ flagship, benefits from their playoffs-to-Super Bowl champs run, up 34% to move back into the top five.

iHeartMedia AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ continues at the top right through its flip to and from Christmas songs, with a 45% retention of its Holiday survey share. Hubbard classic rock KSLX sits just 1.3 share points behind KESZ, with iHeartMedia adult hits “95.5 The Mountain” KYOT ranked third.

After three surveys led by iHeartMedia AC WNIC during its all-Christmas run, Audacy sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM moves back into first place, 1.6 share points ahead of Audacy classic hits WOMC. WNIC, meanwhile, slips to fourth, retaining 44% of its Holiday book share. Audacy “Newsradio 950” WWJ-AM gains 1.3 points to return to the top five for the first time since March 2025.

iHeartMedia sports “K-Fan” KFXN returns to the top, tied with Minnesota Public Radio news/talk KNOW. The latter hits a four-year high by breaking the 8-share wall, for its first No. 1 book over the past four years. “K-Fan” had ruled the Twin Cities for 11 straight surveys before classic hits sister “Kool 108” KQQL took over after its switch to all-Christmas. “Kool” now ranks fourth, with the market’s other all-Christmas flipper, contemporary Christian pubcaster KTIS-FM, at fifth, with a 47% and 73% share retention from Holiday 2025, respectively.

Tampa’s top three during the Holiday survey, all of which moved to an all-Christmas format for those weeks, remain in the top three in a slightly different order. Radio Training Network contemporary Christian “The Joy FM” WCIE returns to No. 1, just 0.2 in front of the Holiday champ, CMG soft AC “105.5 The Dove” WDUV, with iHeartMedia AC “Mix 100.7” WMTX still third. WDUV and WMTX retain 76% and 79% of their Holiday 2025 share, respectively, while WCIE actually surpasses its Holiday delivery with an 8.6 vs. 8.4.

Only two AC-turned-all-Christmas stations reporting on Day 1 stuck at No. 1 in January: iHeartMedia’s KOST Los Angeles and KODA Houston. There are also two on Day 2: iHeartMedia’s KESZ Phoenix and Bonneville’s KOSI, keeping a 1-share-point lead over Audacy classic rock “99.5 The Mountain” KQMT, with an impressive 56% retention of its Holiday survey share. Just below, Bonneville country sister KYGO jumps from 10th to third for a 1.8-point gain.

Audacy classic hits “Sunny 98.1” KXSN had racked up 11 straight wins before AC sister KYXY broke in with its all-Christmas format, but things are again “Sunny” at the top, even as KXSN leads San Diego State University news/talk KPBS by just a tenth of a point. KYXY moves down to fourth, with a respectable 49% retention of its Holiday 2025 share delivery.

Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM moves back into the top spot after one survey away during Holiday 2025, with a 2.8-point lead over iHeart country WPOC, up from fourth. Audacy sports “105.7 The Fan” WJZ-FM makes its first top-five showing since last January, while AC sister and Christmas flipper, “Today's 101.9” WLIF, falls to sixth while retaining just 35% of its Holiday book share. 

Hubbard rocker KSHE is back on top, where it was for 11 consecutive surveys before Audacy AC-gone-all-Christmas KEZK took over during the December and Holiday books. While iHeart classic hits KLOU moves back up to second-ranked, KEZK lands at third, with Gateway Creative contemporary Christian “99.1 Joy FM” KLJY, which also featured Christmas music during the prior two surveys, in fourth. While KEZK holds on to 39% of its Holiday share, KLJY matches it exactly, with a 6.7 share in Holiday 2025 and January 2026.